Do you draw me sometimes'
by Vlindervin
Summary: Revolving around the headcanon that Nico draws very well.


An afternoon sun lit up his skin and made him shine even more than usual, the wind was messing up his hair, the heat had dropped and he was a little chilly, but not too much to be really uncomfortable; it was a relief after the day they had. His duties for the day were over and that meant he had time to do what he wanted. Which was Nico. Okay, that came out wrong. (Not that he would mind, exactly.)

Right now, Will Solace stood in front of the Hades cabin that belonged to the dark-haired, Italian kid. Also known as Will's boyfriend, which made him feel giddy inside whenever he thought of it.

He lifted his left arm and knocked on the door.

'Come in', he heard Nico answer and Will pushed the door open. Nico looked like he might have been lying down before Will arrived, but sat up when he heard the knock. The sheets were rumpled and his hair was mussed. But that wasn't particularly surprising; Nico's hair was always a mess.

'Sunshine', Will said as a way of greeting while closing the door. He pecked Nico on the lips and sat down on the bed, next to him.

'I still think that nickname's better suited for you.', Nico said.

Will smiled. 'I don't. That would be too predictable.'

'So? Who cares if it's predictable or unpredictable? Who are you trying to impress?'

'I don't know. The world.' They had moved and now they were leaning against the head-board of Nico's bed, his head on Will's shoulder. Nico had made a few changes to his room after the war, which had involved getting rid of the coffins and getting one enormous bed instead.

Will continued. 'Anyway, we can't both be Sunshine and since I came up with it, I get to use it.'

Nico huffed, but smiled lightly. 'Whatever. You'll just have to settle with 'loser' as nickname, then.'

'What did I ever do to deserve a boyfriend this _mean?_ ', Will replied in mock agony, but before Nico could say anything in response he continued. 'What were you doing before I came, anyway¸ Just sitting in your bed like that?'

Nico looked up at him. 'Maybe I was waiting for you, _loser_.'

Will rolled his eyes at the name. 'I know you weren't, _Sunshine._ '

'Well, maybe it's a secret, then.'

'You'll have to tell me.' Then he quickly added: 'Unless I _don't_ want to know.'

Nico looked at him with a mixture of amusement and something else. He jerked his chin to the bedside table. Will turned his head. A sketchpad and a pencil. Will turned his head back.

'You draw?', he asked.

Nico nodded and made an affirmative noise in response.

'You never told me.'

'I don't have to tell you _every_ thing.', Nico huffed. 'Hazel's probably the only one that knows, anyway.', he added seeing Will's hurt expression.

'Can I see?', Will asked.

'I don't know.', he answered. There was an hesitant spark in his eyes. 'It's really personal and – '

'You don't have to, if you don't want.', Will assured him. Nico twirled his skull ring around his finger, something he did when he was nervous. Will knew Nico was still a little hesitant about their relationship and how to act. He wasn't used to anything like it and didn't know how to react at times. Will did everything to make it easier for him and reassure him he didn't have to be nervous.

Nico smiled at him gratefully and nuzzled closer into Will's shoulder.

'Do you draw me sometimes?' Nico's face was mostly hidden against Will's chest, but Will was pretty sure his cheeks flared up.

'Shut up!', he mumbled.

Will grinned. 'You do draw me!' He hold one hand against his heart and tried to muster his most serious expression. 'I feel honoured, Nico di Angelo.'

Nico groaned in response. 'I hate you!' It earned him a laugh on Will's part.

A few weeks later, Will and Nico were sitting on the couch in the Hades Cabin, just enjoying each other's company and watching the sun set. Nico was lying on top of Will's chest, his head under his boyfriend's chin. Will was running his thumb over the smaller boy's arm, making him shiver at times.

Nico broke the silence and serenity. 'Hey, Will', he said hesitantly. 'I've been thinking. If you really want to see my drawings, I guess I wouldn't mind that much.', It sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

'You know I was just asking, right? I get it if you don't want to show me. Please, don't feel pressured or anything. I really don't mind if you don't want me to.'

The last thing Will wanted to do, was make Nico think he _had_ to do certain things to make him happy.

Nico turned around to face Will and sat up. 'No, I – I know you would never do that. I just – I want you to, because I trust you and – ', he put his head in his hands and groaned. He opened his fingers enough for Will to see his eyes and he looked absolutely adorable. Will couldn't help but crack a smile at how lost he looked. 'You know I'm not good at saying what I feel. Just – ', he sighted and said seriously: 'I give you permission to see my drawings. And don't laugh at me.'

Will smiled at Nico. 'I'd love to. If you're sure you're okay with it.'

Nico got up and nodded. He walked over to his bedside table and grabbed his sketchpad. He dropped it on Will's lap. Then he turned around and lied down on his bed, leaving Will on the couch. He looked tense and Will suspected he was nervous, though he had no reason to be. Whatever was inside, Will was sure he would love it. He, no matter how much he wanted it, was not able to draw anything. It was truly awful, even his handwriting was terrible. (He felt a little better about it whenever he remembered that all doctors have a messy handwriting.)

He turned his head to look at Nico. He was lying with his back facing Will, deliberately not looking at him.

Will took a deep breath and opened the pad. He almost dropped it when he saw what was drawn inside. It was terrifying and he wanted to look away desperately, but he felt hypnotised and found himself unable to do anything but keep his eyes fixated on the paper in front of him. His hands flipped through the pad and he felt tears well in his eyes.

It was beautifully horrific. Inside were pages and pages filled with sketches of things nightmares were made of. Will had never been, but he was certain that it was Tartarus. He saw a whole lot of different monsters and horrors, rivers of fires and death. The pages radiated fear and loneliness, darkness.

It also didn't help that it was all drawn with such precision and care, that it looked way too real. Will didn't realize he had started crying until he felt something wet drop down on his hand. Of course he had always known Nico had been through a lot and that his nightmares were terrible to the point where Nico woke up in hysterics, but actually seeing what he had to go through, at least to a certain degree, made Will's heart clench and very hard for him to breathe. He just couldn't bring himself to stop looking. It was kind of hypnotising.

Sometimes the drawings of Tartarus were interrupted by some of a girl. She looked a lot like Nico, so Will suspected her to be Bianca as he'd never met her while she was still alive. She looked positively beautiful and shared a lot of the same traits as Nico did.

Will was pleased to see that after a while the drawings became gradually less depressing. Or at least that's what it looked like. The pictures of Tartarus were still there, but there were more and more pictures with a happy feeling. There was one of Hazel, surrounded by gems and it seemed as if her eyes were pearls too. It was beautiful. There even were some of Bianca smiling, as opposed to her looking sad or defeated.

Then there was a boy Will almost didn't recognize as himself. But it really was him looking up from the pad and he was gleaming. The reason he almost didn't recognize himself, was not because it was badly drawn, but the opposite really. It may have been because it was perfectly done. He faintly remembered reading something once that if you'd see a clone of yourself, you wouldn't recognize it. This was how it felt. Drawn Will looked almost… handsome? Real Will had never thought of himself that way. Sure, he didn't hate the way he looked, but he had his insecurities like any other person and he'd never thought of himself as particularly good-looking.

When Nico put him on paper though, Will seemed to radiate of light. As a child of Apollo, he knew it was true on a certain level, but not this way. He seemed to be giving off happiness, somehow. Between all the other sketches, this was like a light in the darkness.

He wondered if that was the way Nico thought of him. As happiness. As light in the darkness. And it made his heart swell.

When he had seen everything, he slowly made his way to Nico's bed and positioned himself behind his boyfriend. He wrapped his arms around him and planted a light kiss in his neck. He was still overwhelmed by emotion, he didn't trust himself to talk immediately for fear of tears, so he tried to show what he was feeling through touch.

Nico turned around and looked at Will expectantly, clearly waiting for him to say something. Will swallowed.

'I don't know what to say, Nico. It was – It's – ', his words were stuck in his throat, unable to come out. 'You draw beautifully.' It didn't cover what he was feeling in the slightest, but it'd have to do for now.

Nico opened his mouth to say something, but he then came closer to examine Will's face. His brows furrowed and he said. 'Have you been crying?'

Will let out a short laugh and wiped his eyes. 'Ugh, is it that obvious?'

'Why did you cry?'

'Because', Will started. 'it breaks my heart that you had to go through that all by yourself. I can't even imagine how that must've been. Like, I got depressed looking at your drawings and that's not even – I just love you so much' The last part was barely a whisper. He pressed his lips against Nico's sweetly. 'I also really liked the one of me. I looked so shiny.', he said after pulling back, trying to lighten the mood a little.

Nico smirked at that. 'Well, it's just the way you are.'

Will pulled him closer and rested his head on top of the other boy's. 'Thank you for trusting me enough. You don't know how much it means to me.'

Nico snuggled closer to Will and buried his face in his chest. He shrugged. 'It's okay.' He planted a light kiss on Will's neck. 'And if it wasn't already clear from your portrait, I love you too, you dork.'


End file.
